"I get pretty excited when we get calls like this," Hansen said. "For me, I love the excitement of a potential capture and a success story at the end."

KETV NewsWatch 7 rode along during the pelican rescue.

After it was caught, a quick exam revealed two injuries: a broken foot and a broken wing.

"My guess is that we are dealing with healed fractures," Stastny said. "Whether those leave him unreleasable, which is possible that he's unreleasable, we would definitely work with partners to try and get him placed into a captive colony."

"We are pretty excited to be able to help out with you guys," Bryson said. "You guys made the call and we were able to get the boat to your bird and save it."

"Hopefully we can take care of this guy and give him at least another chance at the life he could've had, had (he) not gotten hurt," Hansen said.

The injuries likely happened during migration; pelicans can hit power lines or get caught in severe weather. This is the first time Nebraska Wildlife Rehab's had access to the water in time to save an injured pelican.